THE ART OF BEING A MESS

Album ∙ Pop ∙ 2025

Lauren Spencer Smith

Lauren Spencer Smith’s sophomore album THE ART OF BEING A MESS is unapologetically unvarnished. The opening piano chords of “What a beautiful day” are so intimately recorded, the hammer hitting the strings and the frog-like croak of the pedals come across clearly. Lyrically, Spencer Smith is equally vulnerable, like on the aforementioned opener, where she rummages through her feelings to help explain why she feels so particularly shitty on such a gorgeous day. Her makeup is applied perfectly; not a hair is out of place. And yet? Sadness prevails.

Spencer Smith spends the album finding ways to be okay while not being okay, like on the indie pop cut “bridesmaid.” Here, she reckons with the deterioration of a friendship, cleverly contextualizing such heartbreak by wishing her ex-bestie could be standing by her side on her wedding day, now that she’s “finally found the man that I adore.” On THE ART OF BEING A MESS, nothing is perfect, but Spencer Smith marches on defiantly, and, most importantly, with hope.